the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina, starts tuesday with jimmy carter and michelle obama on the list of first day speakers. we'll have much more from charlotte in our next hour. i'm randi kay. i'll see you back here at the top of the hour. your bottom line begins right now. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm christine romans. the republican party is obsessed with the mounting debt in this country. call it the party's new religious right, getting religion on debt deficits after they spent years helping run them up. let's start with the fact that, yes, america has a debt problem. we all agree. one of the lasting images of the republican national convention, two giant clocks counting america's debt. one started tallying up the dollars since the conventn began on monday and the other shows the total amount the government owes. that number is nearing an almost impossible $16 trillion. what you won't hear is the republican-backed policies that help run up the clock. here are official government statistics visualized by the center budge priorities. take a look at thi